05/08/19 Rogersville, AL-Tiptonville, TN

DAY #200

Woke up this morning before the alarm went off and while still laying in bed, I was looking out through the screen door. It was warm last night so I kept only the screen door shut, As I was looking out, the male cardinal landed on a branch where I could see him and there he stayed for a short time singing away. it was almost like he was saying goodbye, and letting me know that he was looking out for me. It reminded me of the first day when the female cardinal came by and did the same thing. I don’t think I could have had a better send-off. Of course by the time I got set up to get a photo, off he went. Oh well, I’ll just have to keep getting that special photo of a cardinal on my list of things to do.

Another five hour day on the road so it was up early (8:00 am). Getting the trailer ready to travel went smooth, it was really convenient that the camp site had a sewer connection, so dumping the black and grey tanks was a snap. One thing I noticed while staying in Alabama State Parks, they have pretty good amenities and overall, their parks are kept up quite well. Once packed up and ready to go, it was onward and upward to the next destination, Reelfoot Lake State Park just outside Tiptonville, TN.

The drive was pretty uneventful (no flat tires or breakdowns) which I’m always thankful for. The roads started out by being a series of relatively narrow, winding, and early on, up and down (pretty hilly) roads where I averaged about 45-50 mph. Once into Tennessee, the roads began to become straighter and flatter and there were more four-lane expressways (one step below freeway level). The drive was quite a bit easier with speeds of 60-65 mph. it worked out pretty good, even though I really enjoy the narrow, slow going roads, they can and do get tiring to drive after a while, so it was a nice relief to just set the cruise and go.

A couple of highlights on the drive was going through the town of Savannah, TN. It was in this area that the Civil War battle of Shiloh was fought. Not far from Savannah, I went through the town of Adamsville, which is the home of Bufford Pusser, the sheriff depicted in the ‘Walking Tall’ movies. I could have stopped and gotten some photos but towing the trailer for me is cumbersome to maneuver around (of course seeing people do it with 5th wheel trailers, Class A motor-homes, etc, make this somewhat of a lame excuse). The biggest reason for not stopping was time, so I saw what I could and moved on.

The final twenty five miles of the trip was an adventure . the iPad map app had me going down some pretty sketchy roads. They were uber narrow without lines and seemed to be little more than farm roads, although they were paved (and straight). In fact, I spend a couple miles going down one of them behind a big (really big) tractor, the kind used to spray the fields. The area was composed largely of farm fields dotted with blocks of trees, something that’s been a while since I’ve seen. It was neat to see farmers in their tractors working a number of the fields.

I did come across a sight that had me do a double take while driving down one of those way back roads. I came by a bunch of donkeys in a pasture, I thought that was cool in its own right but then there it was, in among all the donkeys was a zebra. Thinking back, I probably should have gotten a photo so I don’t get a lot of; yeah, sure you saw a zebra in Tennessee.

Finding the campground turned out to be a bit of an effort. The park is broken up into a number of areas around the lake. There’s a couple of day use areas, a boat ramp area, and a museum, in addition to the campground. After driving up and down the road for awhile, I finally found the campground.

Checked in and found out that I was at the South Campground and my reservation was for the North Campground. I had known this when I made the reservation but I thought that both areas were located in the same general vicinity. Man was I wrong, it seemed the North Campground was about 15 miles away, so after getting instructions on how to get there, off I went.

The drive to the North Campground took me away from the lake and for the most part, civilization in general, man I was out in the sticks. About the only sign of civilization was a large prison complex about a quarter mile off the road. Along the way I saw a sign informing me of a wildlife refuge which was located in Kentucky was fifteen miles down the road, I didn’t know I was that close to the border. I finally found the place and while I was OK with it even with it being so isolated, it did not have any Verizon service (hardcore camper I ain’t), I couldn’t even make a phone call. At this point, I guess I’ve been spoiled by the niceties which included Verizon service and a somewhat close proximity to shopping, etc. Since I had no cell service, I just headed back to the South Campground, explained my concerns, and was able to get a campsite within the grounds. I was relieved and very thankful.

Setup the trailer and I was home for the next week. The site is level and water/power hookup seem good. The site has a nice view of the lake and yes, decent Verizon service. OTA TV reception was limited to three channels but I do have Amazon Prime and Netflix (I watched Cool Hand Luke last night).

The weather looks to be rainy and possibly stormy for the next couple of days and the temperature is set to drop. That wont be all bad since today was almost ninety degrees and humid.